READING — In the nearly two years since making his professional debut, Christian Walker has returned to his home state a few times. Last weekend was the closest he has come to his hometown of Limerick when the Double-A Bowie Baysox played a three-game series against the Reading Fightin Phils.

The relative short commute gave his parents a prime opportunity to catch the former Kennedy-Kenrick star in action. Not that his parents were alone in their support of the first baseman. Walker’s grandparents, his sister, girlfriend and other friends descended upon FirstEnergy Stadium during a cool, but mostly pleasant weekend.

“They are all only about 45 minutes away, so it is an easy trip for them.” Walker said before Saturday evening’s game. “This by far the closest I have come to home, so it’s a lot of fun to have family and friends here. I would have had more people here Friday night, but the rain resulted in some people cancelling.”

Friday afternoon’s deluge did not dampen Walker’s homecoming that evening as he had three hits, including his ninth home run of the season in a 5-3 Bowie win. The Baysox lost Saturday and Sunday, but Walker was 6-for-12 with a pair of walks in the three games to lift his season’s average to .325, which was good for 10th in the Eastern League heading into this week’s action. In addition to his two-run homer Friday, Walker had a run-scoring double Saturday to give him a league-leading 33 RBIs. His nine home runs were second.

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Walker’s power numbers are worth noting. The 2012 fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles out the University of South Carolina hit 13 homers in his first 125 minor league games spread over the 2012 and 2013 seasons. That is not a bad figure by any means. However, multiple pre-season prospect reports suggested that as a corner infielder he needed to pick up the pace in the power department. Walker has certainly done that as his current total of home runs projects to 30 based on the 142-game Eastern League schedule.

“Obviously, that is a concern as being a corner guy (hitting with power) is expected,” he said. “I have always been referred to as an unorthodox corner player who hits more doubles than the average corner player. I try not to think about it too much. I do not allow it to dictate my approach and try to get pull happy and hit too many home runs. I am still working on finding my power stroke. It is just a matter of timing and hopefully it will keep clicking for me.”

Things started to click in earnest in mid-April when Walker embarked on a 10-game hitting streak. He was named the Eastern League’s player of the week (ending April 20) when he hit .421 en route to batting .333 in the season’s opening month.

“It was nice to get recognized and it is all about just staying motivated,” said Walker, who was rated by Baseball America as the Orioles’ No. 12 prospect heading into this season. “When you see yourself producing certain numbers and reaching your goals it is easy to stay motivated.”

Motivation has never been a problem for Walker, who has produced wherever his baseball career has taken him. Playing in the SEC and winning two national titles with the Gamecocks, Walker hit .336 with 30 homers and 168 RBIs in 197 career games. After he was drafted in June 2012 Walker left South Carolina — he has about a year’s worth of credits remaining — and spent the balance of the summer getting his feet wet professionally in short-season Class A.

Last year Walker was promoted twice and ultimately finished the season at Bowie where a back injury was the only thing that could slow him down. Between three affiliates he hit .300 with 11 homers and 56 RBIs in 103 games. A healthy Walker has followed suit with a hot 2014 showing so far. Alas, the 23-year-old understands baseball is humble game and it is critical to keep his ears and eyes open while continuing to work on what is best for him in the batter’s box.

“It is only my second professional season,” said Walker, who played for the U.S. in last summer’s Futures Game, a mid-season minor league showcase. “I am still learning a lot about myself as a hitter and as a player while really sticking with my mental approach at the plate. I am not letting a certain pitch dictate how I am going to handle an at-bat or change my approach.”

Scouts have noticed how Walker’s approach has paid off. One remarked prior to Saturday’s game how he has “good power and consistently makes good, solid contact” while noting how his stock has been steadily rising. So much so that it would come as no surprise if Walker earned a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk at some point this season.

As far as how first base stacks up in the system ahead of Walker, Norfolk has Brett Wallace and Chris Marrero. Wallace, who hit .242 over parts of four seasons with the Astros, was out of work until he signed a minor-league deal with the Orioles one week prior to the start of this season. Marrero, though only 26, is in his ninth minor league season. The parent Orioles have Chris Davis at first. The 28-year-old Davis blasted 53 homers last season and was rewarded in January with one-year, $10.35-million deal. He is not signed beyond this season, though.

Despite what may or may not be taking place above him in the system, not much chatter filters down to Walker, at least from the organization. The bottom line is he needs to focus on continuing to do his job.

“You really don’t hear too much about (what the organization) is thinking,” said Walker. “They want you to play the game the right way, play the game hard and know what your role is. Hopefully, I can keep moving up.”

At his current pace it is hard to imagine that not happening, and perhaps another promotion will take place sooner than later.